Manhattan Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street. Photo: Rick Kopstein/NYLJ

A headhunting firm has sued Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf for $3 million, claiming the law firm failed to pay a fee in connection with the placement of a prominent practice group from winding-down Budd Larner.

New York-based Austin & Devon Associates, led by legal recruiter Kim Valentini, said it put Andrew Miller and his “highly profitable” group of pharmaceuticals-focused intellectual property lawyers on the radar of Windels Marx managing partner Robert Luddy back in 2017.

Windels Marx, based in New York, ultimately hired Miller and his Budd Larner team to its New Jersey office in Madison in April, but the firm refused to pay the recruiter's fees, thought to be at least $3 million, said Austin & Devon in its Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.

The recruiter's complaint was filed Tuesday, the same day that Windels Marx announced that another group of Budd Larner attorneys—Jonathan Gray, Mark Larner and Frank Biancola—had joined its ranks.

“Austin & Devon did everything it promised to do—it introduced Windels Marx to a group of talented attorneys that the firm liked enough to hire,” the complaint said. “But despite reaping the rewards of Austin & Devon's work, Windels Marx will not honor its promises.”

The recruiting firm said it signed a contract with Windels Marx in 2013 that put a 12-month time limit on any obligation to pay Austin & Devon in the case of associates who were referred to the firm, according to the complaint. But because partner and group moves typically entail lengthy negotiations, no such limit applied, Austin & Devon claims.

According to the complaint, Valentini revealed Miller's willingness to make a move to Luddy in May 2017 and set up a meeting between the two men in June. But Luddy, the complaint said, told Valentini later that month to “sit tight,” and she didn't get a response to a follow-up she sent Luddy in July asking, “Anything new with Andrew or is it dead?”

Near the end of 2017, Valentini pitched Miller on joining another firm, only to learn from him that he was still going back and forth with Windels Marx, the complaint said. She emailed Luddy about it, but he didn't reply, it said.

In April, three days after Windels Marx publicized the move of 19 people, including Miller's team of 15 lawyers from Budd Larner, Valentini spoke with Luddy, the suit said. They discussed a firm that might be open to joining Windels Marx, but the Miller move also came up.

“Luddy told her that Windels Marx had just hired Miller and his group,” the suit states. “He told her he felt 'terrible' about the whole thing and that he didn't want her to find out about it from the legal press.”

Miller was on Budd Larner's executive committee. His group's departure came less than two months before the Law Journal reported that the Short Hills-based firm was planning to shut its doors this summer. The firm confirmed last month that it would shut its doors in July. That remains the plan, according to Budd Larner's website, which as of Wednesday listed only three lawyers.

Upon learning about Miller's move from Luddy, Austin & Devon's lawyer demanded payment, but it hasn't come, the suit said. 

“Windels Marx understood what it was doing was wrong … but it still refused to pay what was promised,” Rob Glunt of MandelBhandari, who represents Valentini's recruiting firm, said.

A spokeswoman for Windels Marx declined to comment. Miller, who was not a party to the suit, did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday.